Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody (2020) by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay analyzes the evolution of "applied postmodernism" from academic theory into a dominant, illiberal ideology. The authors contend that this shift abandons Enlightenment principles like objective truth, advocating instead for a return to classical liberalism, free speech, and individualism. For more on the book's themes, read the analysis at The Gospel Coalition .